Insect Repellants

[alick]

This one has been done before in a couple of previous threads but I recently found an interesting medical review on the web that gives detailed info about insect repellents.

http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/128/11/931

It's become important to me because the mozzies around my local field archery club have become really aggressive recently. I have a fairly strong allergic response to insect bites and in this case I've had to resort to 4x piriton tablets per day over 2-3 days following each days shooting to keep the reaction down.

Some of the points I found noteworthy in this article (from around 1998) are:

DEET is far and away the best general repellent

Above 50% concentration is probably not such a good idea and stay under 10% for kids.

The US Army now use a 35% DEET slow release formula instead of their previous 75% version. This is made by 3M and is marketed commercially by Amway Corporation (New York, New York) under the brand name HourGuard. It's just as effective as the old 75% formula.

The law of diminishing returns applies - doubling the concentration gives only a modest increase in the duration of protection

In trials over 8 hours, a test group protected by using a combination of DEET on skin and permethrin on clothes suffered only 1 bite per hour average against 1188 bites per hour for the unprotected group :biggthump

Antihistamine tablets can help to control the reactions to bites after the event.

Avon skin-so-soft really DID have an insect repellent effect, but it was not very strong. The article implies that an insect repellent ingredient is now specifically added to it.

If anyone has any direct experience of permethrin sprays to use on clothes (and where to get it cheap in quantity) I'd be very interested to know !

Thanks

 

[Motorbike Man]

As deet can have nasty side effects if used for a long period and will also melt plastic :yikes: I tried one of these during the summer with good results. I deliberatly went to places that I'd been eaten alive (In Dorset, we get mossies the size of sparrows ) and no bites at all. Only problem was the battery contacts bent away as the battery got bounced around, but a piece of sticky backed foam behind the clips solved the problem. As an alternative to chemical mossie reppelants, it worked really well.

 

[Paganwolf]

Boots home brand aftersun with mozzi repelant is the best gear IMO ive used it for years now first tried it in the jungles of Borneo i was working at night with torch and head torch my two mates had jungle formula on and they was engulfed in a cloud of blood suckers i didnt get bitten once

 

[leon-1]

I have used Permethrin impregnated hammocks, mosi nets and clothing. It works very well in areas like the jungle (Kathendini, Ulu Tutong and Labi).

I know it works (one of the guys didn't do his hammock and he got eaten alive in Brunie), sorry can't tell you the cheapest place to get it as I've not really needed it for a long time.

The lifesystems 100 is good on your clothing as well ):

 

[TAHAWK]

Repellants containing "Lemon Eucalyptus" oil have been approved in the U.S., Canada and Oz. A review appears at:

www.backpacker.com/article/1,2646,2256,00.html

Apparently, this product may not work on flies and lasts for a much shorter period than deet-based products. On the other paw, it does not melt plastic (watch crystals, plastic eye-glasses, tent coatings). I've tried it, and at least for periods up to two hours, it kept mosquitoes from biting in an area of heavy infestation.

The two brands I've seen are "Repel" and "Off."

 

[leon-1]

The US Army now use a 35% DEET slow release formula instead of their previous 75% version. This is made by 3M and is marketed commercially by Amway Corporation (New York, New York) under the brand name HourGuard. It's just as effective as the old 75% formula.

Alick, the british armed forces are currently using the same stuff rather than the old liquid stuff that used to melt the hand guard on the SA80 (the cream is a lot less aggressive)

 

[match]

If you're looking for natural repellants, then the best ones for large insects (wasps/flies etc) is Citronella.

For smaller (usually biting ) insects such as mosquitoes and midges, then the new Neem Oil products that are appearing on the market are very good.

However, my personal favourite is Bog Myrtle, which grows everywhere on the Scottish Highland moors (and on some English moorland too) and is currently at the forefront of research into natural midge repellants. A big sprig of this stuck in your hat/rucksack, and some leaves rubbed well over the skin works surprisingly well for me (someone who attracts any and all biting insects in the area :?: )

Having said that, pyrethrin and DEET are often the only way in some areas

 

[EdS]

Be careful about using permethrin.

I used to visit a lot of the wool mills around here where they use it as moth repellants in carpets etc.. The COSHH is quite scary.

It has been linked to nerve damage and all sorts.

 

[Little Mole]

Eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender cover most insects. Citronella isn't really recommended for use on the skin but the other three are pretty safe unless you're pregnant or a young child in which case don't use eucalyptus...as far as I remember.

 

[Frogo]

I think you will find that most essential oils are not to be used undiluted on the skin, especially on childrens skin.
But you will find a lot of childs insect repelants on the market contain citronella. Boots for example.

Also try laying off all sugary foods, and up your garlic intake daily, as mosi's hate it...

Frogo

 

[Little Mole]

I didn't mean directly on the skin. I usually add a few drops of each to a small spritzer bottle of water.



I don't know much about boots products apart from the fact most of their products have huge ingredient lists including many petrochemicals and other nasty stuff. I tend to shop elsewhere.

 

[alick]

Nice pointers guys, thanks.

The most unusual repellant I've tried came from Norway. Fed up of being eaten, my chums & I went into a chemist and having no common language tried to describe repellant by mime. We were duly supplied with a small bottle labelled antiseptik munwasse or some such. It worked a bit but not brilliantly so we struggled on and although it seems plain as day after the fact it took us three of four days to realise that we'd been been rubbing peppermint flavoured mouthwash all over our hands and faces for half a week ):

When we eventually found the real stuff it was a 100% DEET formula called "djungelolje". Obvious, innit ? :biggthump

Cheers